In this series we’ll take a fresh look at resources and how they are used. We’ll go beyond natural resources like air and water to look at how efficiency in raw materials can boost the bottom line and help the environment. We’ll also examine the circular economy and design for reuse — with an eye toward honoring those resources we do have.

While changes at home can’t solve the many environmental crises we face today, they can sure help. Through this series, we’ll explore how initiatives like curbside compost pick-up, rebates on compost bins, and efficient appliances can help families reduce their impact without breaking the bank.

Despite decades -- centuries even -- of global efforts, slavery can still be found not just on the high seas, but around the world and throughout various supply chains. Through this series on forced labor, sponsored by C&A Foundation, we’ll explore many different types of bonded and forced labor and highlight industries where this practice is alive and well today.

In this series we examine how companies should respond to national controversy like police violence and the BLM movement to best support employees and how can companies work to improve equality by increasing diversity in their ranks directly.

Compost is often considered a panacea for the United States’ tremendous food waste problem. Indeed, composting is a much better option than putting spoiled food in a garbage can destined for a landfill.

With recycled — yet catchy — titles like “The Military is Going Green” and “For the U.S. Military, it’s Easy Being Green,” the world learned that the military’s dependence on fossil fuels has become a strategic nightmare.

Of course, for those who are regular readers of these pages, this is hardly “news.”

And certainly I’ve been reporting on this very issue since first launching Green Chip Stocks back in 2005.

I can even remember speaking at an investment conference in 2006; my topic was the military’s reliance on fossil fuels. I have to admit that back then, it wasn’t easy convincing folks that transitioning away from fossil fuels (where possible) was paramount if we wanted to prepare for a post-peak world.

But when I started quoting Pentagon reports and former Reagan White House advisors, the mood changed…

Now I realize that there are still those who don’t believe alternative energy will soon be integrated on a much larger scale than it is today. And investors can ignore this reality at their own peril.

But one thing is certain: While it may take a few more years to see more solar shining in your neighborhood, the military’s going full force on alternative energy— today.

The military has adopted alternative energy

From portable solar panels to energy-conserving lights, the U.S. military is fast-tracking the transition from fossil fuels to systems that lessen the military’s vulnerability on the battle field.

As reported last week in the New York Times:

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the huge truck convoys that haul fuel to bases have been sitting ducks for enemy fighters — in the latest attack, oil tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan were set on fire in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, early Monday. In Iraq and Afghanistan, on Army study found, for every 24 fuel convoys that set out, one soldier or civilian engaged in fuel transport was killed. In the past three months, six Marines have been wounded guarding fuel runs in Afghanistan.

This is serious stuff, folks.

And fortunately, military leaders don’t have to entertain special interest-funded debates about the merits and urgency of alternative energy integration — you know, like we’re doing now in D.C. (well, in between fundraising events and mud-slinging)…

Yes, the military has already ordered the adoption of alternative energy. And the benefits of this move will not be trivialized.

We know that the U.S. Navy now has hybrid ships, and has integrated super-efficient LED lighting on some of its vessels.

Back in January, the Secretary of the Navy announced the Navy and Marine Corps would cut petroleum use in its 50,000 non-tactical commercial fleet in half by phasing in hybrid, flex fuel, and electric vehicles.

The Army is using rucksacks enhanced with portable solar power systems.

Also earlier this year, the U.S. Army took delivery of a mobile trailer-mounted wind turbine and storage unit developed by a company called WindTamer Corporation (OTCBB: WNDT).

That system is currently being used as a demonstration unit for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. This is the Army’s largest technology developer and its primary source for research and development.

Next year, we know that the entire Air Force fleet will be certified to fly on biofuels. It was only about six months ago that the Air Force announced its first feasibility flight demonstration using a hydrocarbon synthetic jet fuel created from animal fats and plant oils.

Yes, my friends… This is happening right now.

No debates.

No second-guessing.

And no media blowhards using scare tactics to keep the couch potato zombies believing a transition to alternative energy is some kind of socialist plot designed to cripple the U.S. economy.

Whether you think alternative energy is the real deal or not, one thing is certain…

The military doesn’t care about public opinion polls. It cares about results.

And that’s the difference between complacency and progress.

I am the co-founder and managing editor of Green Chip Stocks. We are an independent investment research service focused exclusively on "green" markets.